When I refer to myself as a "Havanese," I am talking about the part of myself that is most deeply human and deeply feeling. It is the part of me that connects most intimately and cordially with the family of man. These qualities of grace and friendship and courtesy are what I am today because a group of people took the time to care.

My life started out in a dark and damp basement. My crate backed up to the cold concrete wall. I was always cold. As hard as I tried I couldn’t get quite warm enough to stop the little shivers that ran up and down my spine. I sat in my crate like a squished bug, unable to run, jump, or roll over and scratch my back.

Then one day I was given to a woman, who, as it turned out, was an angel by the name of Stacy DeJoseph, who took me to meet Kathryn and Paul Stakelin. They had driven all the way from Lexington, Kentucky to Ohio to take me home with them.

Well I’ll tell you, things didn’t start out too well. The first thing I did was bite Paul’s hand. The second thing I did was bite Paul’s hand again. The third thing I did was bite the groomers hand. But after each episode they would give me a hug and gently put me down. I learned something new: love, kindness and trust and, boy, you should see me now!

I have a best friend, Bess the Doberman. I have a big backyard and I have a wonderful warm bed to sleep in. Every day I get to go on a walk. I am proud to tell you I have chewed through 4 Flexi- leashes and 2 harnesses but that has come to a halt due to a new flavor called Tabasco Sauce. I go to the groomer once a month. This is traumatic since I don’t really like riding in the car. But I saw a new travel crate come into the house the other day so I think my travel fears are over. I have made many friends in my neighborhood. I know this because everyone shouts “Hi Benny!” as we walk by.

I have learned many things since I came to my forever home. I have learned to listen to and appreciate piano and cello music-sometimes even singing along. I have learned to love cheese, dried chicken tenders, tennis balls, dirt clumps, snow, rain, and kids. I have learned that a hand patting my head or scratching my ears is a good thing.

My first year anniversary with Paul and Kathryn was in October. It just flew by on bats' wings and cricket chirps to the present. My new life is wonderful just like the stars promised, with the half-lidded moon as a witness long ago.

Kathryn Stakelin

A lot of what HRI does is to rehome incoming Havanese but the other half of the equation is public education. This is also a very important piece of the puzzle so that fewer dogs end up in rescue. There are many ways members of HRI work to make this happen such as breeders educating the public, members setting up booths at pet expos, rescue events, handing out flyers, and even just making friends and family members aware of Havanese Rescue.

This past fall a havanese named Courtney and her Mom attended a havanese funday and soon asked what they could do to help HRI. She met Lu at the IHC Summer fun day and heard about pet stores and puppy mills. She had no idea that the little Havanese she saw in a pet store came from a horrible place like a puppy mill. Right then, she knew she wanted to help rescue but didn’t know how. At the time, with an older Havanese and a Maltese, she couldn’t foster, but wanted to find a way in which she could help.

She thought of Courtney's upcoming 12th birthday party and thought this would be a great way to let others know about puppy mills and rescue. She had flyers at the party, talked about pet store puppies, responsible breeders, and what rescue does. In the end, this little dog’s birthday party raised over $100 for rescue while educating many people about what rescue is all about.

Amanda Brown

Meet Bud and Louise Donner! Bud and Louise joined Havanese Rescue a few years ago and jumped right in. Every time a dog needs to be transported anywhere on the East Coast Bud volunteers to hop into his car and go; in fact, I don’t think we’ve had a transport on the East Coast that didn’t include Bud. He recently logged 750 miles in one weekend driving three of our dogs – two of them to their new homes and one to a foster home! Bud and Louise have also picked up and fostered several dogs who have been turned in in their area, many at a moment’s notice, in addition to going to shelters to check on dogs there reported to be Havanese. When we thought we were getting the dogs from the Chester County puppy mill, of course Bud and Louise were standing by to help transport and foster.

Because they have a wealth of dog experience, Bud and Louise have also been a wonderful resource both for folks who were thinking about turning dogs in, as well as those who have adopted from us who have some issues with the Havanese while the dog is adapting to their new home. A large part of rescue is suggesting solutions for problems an owner is having with their dog and in many cases encouraging them to continue working with their dog rather than turning it over to us.

Louise has another special skill that we knew nothing about until last fall. For those of you who were able to attend the Havanese National Specialty in Richmond last October, if you dropped by the HRI get together you may remember Louise selling an amazing amount of merchandise from the Havanese Rescue store. Of course the merchandise wouldn’t have gotten there if not for Bud jumping in at the last moment and driving it all down. I think Louise could sell Sub-Zero refrigerators to Eskimos, and her enthusiasm was contagious – we sold out of almost everything that night and raised some money for our dogs. Selling all that merchandise was such a fabulous thing to do for rescue.

Thanks so much to Bud and Louise for all they’ve done for Havanese Rescue – they really are changing lives and there are many dogs who can count themselves lucky to have been helped by such great people.

Jenny French

HRI now has magents available for your car. The Havanese depicted on these magnets was rescued from a puppymill in February 2006. Although he nows lives a happy life with a family who loves him, others are not so fortunate.

Thank you for supporting HRI and our efforts to end the suffering in puppymills!